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Uriah Price
Son of Zebediah Price, Uriah is a man with more money than he knows with what to do. His father Zebediah built the gigantic company PORCO! with sweat, determination, hard work, and no small amount of strong-armed business tactics. Uriah, on the other hand, has done none of these things, inheriting the company after his father’s unexpected death. As a dabbler and dilettante, he had very little experience to effectively run the family business. As he gains more exposure to the real world, he has come to realize his shortcomings. However, he has taken to covering them up with bravado, money and status as one of the wealthiest men in St. Louis. Until the present, Uriah Price had been seen by many as nothing more than a bratty rich kid with more money than sense, but he’s also a son trying to fill his father's shoes and find his own place in the world. Some have cast Uriah as a villain; others see him as an inexperienced pawn under the control of unscrupulous powers within the PORCO! organization. It has been said that before his death, Zebediah and more moderate leadership kept such unscrupulous elements under control. Now, those pulling Uriah’s strings have quietly taken power over PORCO!, by manipulating the inexperienced heir. Many of the business partners and long-term employees of PORCO! have moved on, ostensibly because PORCO! is no longer the company it was under Zebediah, but some whisper that many were forced out with threats and even some disappearances, leaving those considered dregs and bottom feeders of the old organization to move up in the PORCO! ranks. Those who would paint Uriah Price as the villain behind the PORCO! brand allege that his image of a foolish, inexperienced dandy is just a façade, believing he harbors darker designs and motives under the jester’s mask. Others underscore his patent disregard for the lives or well being of anyone other than himself. Whether imbecilic fop, narcissistic coward or villainous profiteer; Uriah Price has emerged as one of the most loathed men in St. Louis and poster boy for nouveau riche and petty bourgeoisie alike. In an act typical of Uriah’s level of empathic disconnection, he ordered an orphanage torn down to construct a factory, causing great outrage in the local community. Under scrutiny of the infuriated populace, Uriah stated publicly that he never knew an orphanage was to be demolished to make way for the factory, and offered jobs to the displaced orphans at the factory when it was completed. This sort of public demonstration of his monumental incompetence and lack of common sense has made him a laughing stock throughout St. Louis. Others perceive villainy in his actions and use the word slavery to describe working conditions at PORCO! facilities. Uriah is abundantly aware of such rumors and seems to be set on changing the situation. If he truly is but an inexperienced dandy, he may yet burnish his name into a shining example. If he is a true villain, those who oppose him could meet with serious "accidents". Unfortunately, in another potentially disastrous decision, Uriah has tried to gain public recognition as a person of importance by becoming ennobled. Although he can buy and sell many a man or woman, even some nobles, he has distanced himself further from his goal. True nobles eschew him as a commoner with lots of money that he did nothing to earn. Questions of his possibly villainous nature keep petty nobles from associating with him. The only nobles that welcome his presence are those shunned by most nobility, the broken nobles or those whose fortunes have been squandered. Uriah Price is a man with something to prove, a dangerous prospect when someone has that much money and no scruples about using it to force his way through obstacles to his goals.